Twins honor student volunteers

Mauer and Punto recognize student leaders in national program

During an on-field ceremony prior to Tuesday night's game, Minnesota Twins players Joe Mauer and Nick Punto will represent all Major Leaguers when they honor Twin Cities-area high school students serving as Captains of the Minnesota Action Team, a service learning program in which Major League players and high school students are inspiring and training the next generation of volunteers. During the 2007-08 school year, these Minnesota Action Team Captains raised awareness about the importance of community involvement among other students in their high schools and organized hundreds of other students to get involved in volunteer activities.

Administered by the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Volunteers of America, the Action Team program encourages and trains young people throughout the United States to volunteer in their communities. To date, Action Teams of high school students and Major Leaguers have inspired more than 14,000 high school students across the United States to help over 60,000 people in need by volunteering in their communities, while an Action Team service-learning curriculum created by the Players Trust in partnership with The Wall Street Journal's Classroom Edition teaches valuable community service skills to 700,000 high school students in more than 5,000 classrooms across the country.

Receiving signed certificates of achievement from the players on Tuesday night are 2007-08 Minnesota Action Team Captains, Bo Selleck and David Tranvick of St. Margaret's High School and Gabe Johnson of Maple Grove High School. Unable to join the presentation are Action Team Captains Mary Cashman, Greta Wiessner and Sarah Koller of St. Margaret's and Katie Long and Karin Obaid of St. Paul Academy and Summit School. Also, Mary Cashman receives a $1,000 college scholarship from the Major League Baseball Players Trust in recognition of her dedication to community service.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mauer and Punto joined these students and other members of the Minnesota Action Team to host a rousing game of virtual baseball and other activities for seniors at Volunteers of America's Southwest Center in Minneapolis. This fun, intergenerational competition, featuring Nintendo's innovative Wii video-gaming technology, was organized by Action Team Captains to promote overall health and wellness among seniors.

Action Teams are working together in Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Mobile, New York City, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland (Maine), San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. Volunteers of America and the Major League Baseball Players Trust are planning to expand the Action Team program to Chicago, Cleveland and Tampa during the 2008-09 school-year.

Through the Players Trust, Major Leaguers contribute their time, money and celebrity to call attention to important causes affecting the needy and to help encourage others to get involved in their own communities. In partnership with Volunteers of America, the national human service organization, the Players Trust created and helps administer the Action Team, a national youth volunteer initiative currently inspiring the next generation of volunteers in cities throughout the United States.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.